Ada Lovelace

By Willow Skidmore

PHS Press staff member

Ada Lovelace (also known as Augusta Ada King) was the Countess of Lovelace and known as the first computer programmer. According to Wikipedia, she was born as Augusta Ada Byron on December 10, 1815 in London, England.

Her mother (Anna Isabella King) encouraged her interest in Logic and Mathematics because she was bitter at Lord Byron (Ada’s father) for divorcing her when Ada was just 1 month old. Lady Byron wanted to take Ada’s interest away from her father. In spite of this, Ada remained interested. Part of the reason for this was that she never met him. He died in Greece when she was 8 years old. 

 Ada was often ill and at the age of 8, she experienced headaches that blocked her eyesight. In June of 1829, she was paralyzed by measles. She was kept in bed for nearly a year, which may have extended her time of paralysis. By the year 1831, she was able to walk by using crutches. Even while ill, she continued her studies.

According to Wikipedia, on July 8, 1835, she married William King (who was the 8th baron of that name) and became Baroness King. They lived in Ockham, Surrey, UK. They had three children: Byron (b. May 12, 1836), Anne Isabella (b. September 22, 1837), and Ralph Gordon (b. July 2, 1839). After Anne’s birth, Ada was sick for awhile. In the year 1838, her husband became the Earl of Lovelace. She was considered the Countess of Lovelace for most of her married life.

According to the San Diego Supercomputer Center, Ada translated a paper written in French about her friend Charles Babbage’s work. It is from there that she gets her fame. She was called the first computer programmer because with her math she worked with Babbage to create the design of a computer. She was called his Enchantress of Numbers.

Modern day people saw Babbage’s notes and for 30 years they didn’t know who his “Enchantress of Numbers” was. Then 15 years ago, their research led to Ada’s identification. Since then, many people have written novels about her. 

Ada died at the age of 36 on November 27, 1852 from cancer. By her request, she was buried next to her father at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene Hucknall in Nottingham, England.